Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Russian Sports Ambassadors as Agents of Soft Power in the Age of the “Information War”

TY - JOUR

T1 - Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Russian Sports Ambassadors as Agents of Soft Power in the Age of the “Information War”

AU - Kazakov, Vitaly

PY - 2018/3/21

Y1 - 2018/3/21

N2 - Russian political elites relied on internationalist rhetoric and personal pleas to secure the rights to host two sporting mega-events in Russia in the 2010s. The early soft power promise of these events did not materialize, however, as Russia found itself in the midst of multiple geopolitical crises and the so-called “information war” with the West. This article examines the role of Russia’s political leaders, global sports stars Maria Sharapova and Alexander Ovechkin, and Russian football fans as ambassadors for Russia through the prism of direct and indirect modes of soft power exertion and nation branding in the context of sports. We argue that these important agents did not fulfil their potential to change international outlooks on the Russian state at a turbulent period.

AB - Russian political elites relied on internationalist rhetoric and personal pleas to secure the rights to host two sporting mega-events in Russia in the 2010s. The early soft power promise of these events did not materialize, however, as Russia found itself in the midst of multiple geopolitical crises and the so-called “information war” with the West. This article examines the role of Russia’s political leaders, global sports stars Maria Sharapova and Alexander Ovechkin, and Russian football fans as ambassadors for Russia through the prism of direct and indirect modes of soft power exertion and nation branding in the context of sports. We argue that these important agents did not fulfil their potential to change international outlooks on the Russian state at a turbulent period.

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1863-0421

SP - 4

EP - 8

JO - Russian Analytical Digest

JF - Russian Analytical Digest

IS - 216

ER -